RedAllison
05-15-2003, 12:29 PM
I'm kickin around the idea of buyin a boat with a lil more room for my 3 kids, wife and the umpteen bajillion bags of CRAP they require for a day on the water. Plus wouldnt mind an extra seat or two for other family/friends. (HELL NO I aint gettin rid of the Alli, just would like more room and tired of the kids scratchin her up and fillin her fulla mud!). I need something that handles barge and cruiser wakes on the TN River but its gotta go fast enough to pull skiers, tubers and I keep threatening to get an "Air Chair", so pontoons are out. Tritoons and deckboats are just more than my cheap ass wants to spend for a second or "beachboat".
There are TONS of old 19'-21' jets available for lil of nothing (under $5k) but I would have to have a bowrider for them to have the room I need. How much trouble is it to cut the deck out, split the console and glass in some sides on the consoles and then put a floor and interior up in the nose? I'm not worried about a speed demon, anything that would push into the 50s would be more than what I need from a "mudboat" for the kids to trash. I grew up around jets (my dad and family raced them in the 70s and early 80s) but they were mostly lightweight racehulls built by my dads cousin in Memphis (Sunkisst hulls). Hell I know I'm gettin old, I would want a motor hatch and thru-transoms so my kids wouldnt get burned and I would rather hear the stereo anyway.
I have always LOVED the old 20' Tahiti's but hulls like Taylor and Sleekcraft are much more plentiful in my area. Also what about making an old daycruiser into a bowrider/cuddy combo? While most of them are in CA, I've wondered how an old 22'-24' daycruiser would work if I cut the area forwardmost under the deck and left the cuddy seating intact? I just want room for at least 8 people, an open nose and it gets way to hot in west TN in July/August for a full on cuddy. The seats under there would be good for the kids when a rainshower pops up and would make a good place to put watertoys while moving, but its just too hot for regular seating.
Any ideas?
RA
There are TONS of old 19'-21' jets available for lil of nothing (under $5k) but I would have to have a bowrider for them to have the room I need. How much trouble is it to cut the deck out, split the console and glass in some sides on the consoles and then put a floor and interior up in the nose? I'm not worried about a speed demon, anything that would push into the 50s would be more than what I need from a "mudboat" for the kids to trash. I grew up around jets (my dad and family raced them in the 70s and early 80s) but they were mostly lightweight racehulls built by my dads cousin in Memphis (Sunkisst hulls). Hell I know I'm gettin old, I would want a motor hatch and thru-transoms so my kids wouldnt get burned and I would rather hear the stereo anyway.
I have always LOVED the old 20' Tahiti's but hulls like Taylor and Sleekcraft are much more plentiful in my area. Also what about making an old daycruiser into a bowrider/cuddy combo? While most of them are in CA, I've wondered how an old 22'-24' daycruiser would work if I cut the area forwardmost under the deck and left the cuddy seating intact? I just want room for at least 8 people, an open nose and it gets way to hot in west TN in July/August for a full on cuddy. The seats under there would be good for the kids when a rainshower pops up and would make a good place to put watertoys while moving, but its just too hot for regular seating.
Any ideas?
RA